ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ᴏʀ ʜᴇʟʟ ⟶ ɢinny ᴡeasley

xv

That night Jude couldn't sleep mainly for two reasons: the first of those being Ginny. She was completely stunned and taken aback by what had happened earlier that evening, the mere thought that something had happened to her and she hadn't come to her calls for help made her blood boil —against herself, of course. Jude was the kind of person who, when something unfamiliar happened, had to know what had happened instantly or she would lose her mind in impatience.

The second reason was because her whole body ached, but especially her forearm. The first time it had happened to her she had decided to keep quiet, because she thought it could be a simple coincidence, but the second and third time had happened in short periods of time, so Jude, no matter how afraid she was because of it, ruled out that they were coincidences. She looked at her arm several times, as if there was something on her skin, some kind of mark that caused that pain, but she only found that horrible snake.

She turned around several times in her bed, and after several attempts to find the cool side of the pillow, she came to the conclusion that she wouldn't sleep tonight. She got out of bed, and inevitably her eyes fell on the mural she had created on the wall. This time she had removed all the traces she had found so far, only the transcript she had found in that strange book of prophecies was hanging. A chill ran through her body every time she read her name and the corresponding initials of the people who had heard the prophecy.

She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. She wanted to know what the prophecy that contained her name was about and what tied her to Merlin knew what. She wanted to know what her role in it was, she wanted to know why precisely she had been chosen from among so many people to appear in that theory. She wanted to know who the other person was, whom Sybill Trelawney had given the honor of dictating that prophecy.

She picked up the gold coin from her nightstand and clenched it in her fist: she also wanted answers from Ginny. Although she was mainly concerned about knowing what had happened to her that evening in the room, her head couldn't help but wonder why the redhead wanted to know the truth right now. Had she spent two years trying to find a moment with her to confess what had really led her to choose the side of the Dark Lord? Why did Ginny care about her decision, if she seemed to hate her more than she hated herself?

She left the Common Room as quietly as she could. She covered her body with a sweater in her hourse colors, still wearing her long pajama bottoms, hoping she wouldn't have to be ashamed of being discovered. She didn't even think about the possible risks of Filch catching her wandering the halls, she only had one thought in her head and that was Ginny.

Jude was surprised to discover that there was no one guarding the hallways, so McGonagall must have blindly trusted her students to follow the rules without being watched, and while Jude appreciated that vote of confidence, it also made her wonder what kind of castle wanted the new Headmistress. She arrived at the Hospital Wing after holding her breath several times for fear of being discovered.

Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the figure of Ginny reclining on one of the gurneys. There was no one by her side, and Jude mentally cursed Thomas, who would surely be sleeping peacefully in the Common Room while his girlfriend had suffered an attack hours ago. She approached her slowly and blinked when she saw that the redhead turned quickly as if she had detected a presence at her side.

"Jude?" Ginny sat up on the bed, sitting up and squinting to get used to the dim light. "What are you doing here?"

Jude was surprised that Ginny's tone was anything but accusatory, so she relaxed momentarily. She grabbed a stool to sit next to her, not before checking that they were alone in the room. "I need you to tell me what happened earlier."

"Nice to know you're that worried about me."

Jude shot her a withering look. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't give a fuck."